Can Base Forming Die Support for Dynamic Punch Misalignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing can bodymakers face challenges in accurately aligning the dome station with the punch, leading to misalignments and defects such as 'smile marks', 'local thinning', and 'split domes' due to dynamic effects and temperature variations, which are costly and time-consuming to correct, especially in high-volume production.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a deflectable die and hold down ring, supported by resilient materials and eddy current sensors, allows for radial movement and real-time alignment adjustments, reducing sensitivity to misalignments and enabling easier alignment through a mechanism with translation and locking systems, and a displacement measurement system using eddy current sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the dome station is aligned statically when the machine is not running, then alignment is achieved initially, but misalignment occurs when the bodymaker is running due to dynamic effects
Solution Approach 1:
The die support is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position in response to punch alignment variations during operation. The resilient support enables the die support to move radially, automatically compensating for dynamic misalignment effects and maintaining continuous alignment precision throughout the forming process.
2Stability of the object's composition
If alignment adjustment mechanisms are added to maintain precision during running, then alignment stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment adjustment system operates automatically without requiring external control mechanisms or operator intervention. The resilient support and movable die support constitute a self-regulating system that autonomously compensates for alignment variations through passive mechanical movement, maintaining stability while minimizing added complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the die is made deflectable to compensate for misalignment, then alignment tolerance improves, but manufacturing precision may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The die itself remains rigid and fixed in position to ensure precise base profile formation, while the die support that holds the die is made movable and resilient. This localized flexibility at the support level allows alignment compensation without affecting the dimensional precision of the die-forming interface, maintaining both adaptability and manufacturing precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the occurrence of defects by allowing the die and hold down ring to move radially, maintaining alignment during the forming process, and provides real-time feedback for operators to correct misalignments, thereby improving can quality and reducing production downtime.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient support for holding the die in a resting position substantially along said axis whilst allowing the die to be deflectable perpendicular to said axis and providing a restoring force to return the die to the resting position
Implementation Method 2
a displacement measurement system using eddy current sensors
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for forming a base profile on a metal container carried on a punch moving along an axis. The apparatus comprises a die for forming the base profile on the container and a resilient support for holding the die in a resting position substantially along said axis whilst allowing the die to be deflectable perpendicular to said axis and providing a restoring force to return the die to the resting position.